A Few of Our Favorite Things From 2012

Pinners on Pinterest and affordable Solid State Drives Mars Rover photos and the new iPhone5 These are a few of our favorite things!

Well, they’re a few of biggest and best things of 2012 that had atLargers singing and dancing with excitement. Reminisce with us on just a few of our favorite things from 2012....

Solid State Drives Are Finally Affordable

A solid state drive, or SSD, is a data storage device that does not use any moving mechanical parts, unlike traditional magnetic disks such as hard disk drives. Because they have no moving parts, they are less susceptible to physical shock and have lower access time. Basically, they work smarter and faster than traditional drives, and can survive a little bump better, too. These drives have been around for years, but have been too expensive for popular consumption. In 2012, however, their prices dropped considerably, making them more affordable for both companies and consumers. IT departments and tech geeks rejoice!

iPhone 5 v. Galaxy SIII

We love a good rivalry, and Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus SIII is finally giving the iPhone a run for its money. Or, consumers' money. Both have beautiful aesthetic designs and large, responsive screens. Not to mention the thousands of apps designed specifically for these two competing giants. The Galaxy has an expandable memory option, cool features for sharing content, and is more affordable. The iPhone is...well, it’s an iPhone. But we have to wonder: With the explosion of new smartphone products out in 2012 and expected in 2013, how long will Apple hang on to the crown of Cool?

Monetizing Mobile

Speaking of phones, in 2012 people finally embraced their smartphone addiction. We can now do just about everything from our iPhones, Androids, Galaxies, and Blackberrys. (Yep, some very important people still prefer Blackberrys. Like, this guy. One very cool development in 2012 was the explosion of commerce on the smartphone. The introduction of devices such as Square - credit card readers that plug directly into your iPhone or iPad - changed the way small businesses operate. Now any small business, even a business of one, can accept credit cards and accept them just about anywhere. Which means atLargers can get crazy good fish tacos from the Baja Boys Grill even if we’re short on cash. Hooray for Taco Tuesdays!

The Olympics

The Games always have the power to unite the world, but never more so than in 2012. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter meant that people from all over the globe, including the athletes themselves, could interact and discuss everything from the opening ceremony to the amazing performances of Olympians like Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix and Gabrielle Douglas.

And who could forget London’s iconic Eye being turned into a social media mood ring? The 2012 Games changed the way we as viewers engage with live events. We can’t wait to see what 2014 and the Winter Games delivers.

Pinterest Popularity

What if there was a way to share the best of your website content with a huge, captivated audience and, better still, allow them to share that content with even more people? Whether you’re a consumer or a company, it’s hard not to love Pinterest. It’s aesthetically gorgeous, user-focused for easy navigation, and helps erase the lines between brands and buyers. No wonder it’s one of the fastest growing social media sites - with over 25 million users since its launch in 2009. And now, with Pinterest for Business, companies have even more tools at their disposal for pinning.

High-Resolution Images from Mars

Okay, so technically this one doesn’t have a whole lot to do with interactive marketing. But still, it’s MARS! Our closest planetary neighbor, the red rock in the sky we’ve wondered about since the 1950s, is now revealed to us in high-definition images sent back from a wandering little robotic rover named Curiosity. Sure, Mars seems to be a barren red landscape reminiscent of Dune, but still...Mars!

There are marketing lessons to be learned from NASA’s awareness campaign for the Mars mission. The high-def video of Curiosity landing has registered over a million viewers, showcasing the power of the video in the new marketing landscape. Funny and insightful tweets from Curiosity continue to delight over 1 million followers, proving once again how important an authentic voice is to successful social marketing.

But perhaps the biggest lesson is more of a reminder. There is no greater tool on this planet than our own minds. As citizens of Earth, we can all look at these pictures, from a place millions of miles away, and marvel at the technological innovations - brought forth from human curiosity, ingenuity, and creativity - that made them possible.

What will 2013 bring? There are predictions of Google smart glasses and an influx of safe, driverless cars. Phones that bend and have interactive skins. Oh, and a laptop that is also a phone, a camera, and a tablet! One thing is for sure, 2013 is going to have a lot worth singing about.